The group's actions were widely applauded by environmental groups

Dec 28, 2008 12:30 GMT  ·  By

Sea Shepherd's announcement, published on the organization's web site, was greeted with satisfaction by many environmental groups, which applauded the tenacity of the group, which managed to once again chase the Japanese whaling fleet away from Australia's economic exclusion zone (EEZ), where hunting whales is strictly prohibited. Japan does it anyway, under the poor disguise of a “scientific” program.

The fleet is now in the waters near New Zealand's Ross Dependency, with Sea Shepherd's flagship, the Steve Irwin, still in pursuit. Although, legally, the waters south of Australia are protected by a 1986 UN charter, as are all whaling routes in the world, Japan considers the region as being a part of international waters, despite opposition from groups such as Greenpeace and critics from the Australian government.

"The good news is that they are no longer whaling in Australian waters and they only managed to hunt in the waters of the Australian Antarctic Territory for about a week before being forced to flee the Australian EEZ. They are now in the waters of the Ross dependency and the Steve Irwin is in pursuit," says a communicate on Sea Shepherd's website. The document also announces that the victory is “bad news” for the whales in that area.

Last Friday, during a protest, the Japanese whaling ship Kaiko Maru and Steve Irwin collided in what authorities in Tokyo denounced as an eco-terrorist act. They blamed Sea Shepherd for intentionally ramming the ship, while the organization said that the whaling factory ship set a course to ram their boat.

This is the second year in a row when the organization disrupts the Japanese whaling season, which aims at culling some 900+ whales for “scientific research.” Most of the meat however reaches the shelves in supermarkets, so everyone knows that the official reason is just a cover-up. Other economic interests prevent the UN from sanctioning Japan on the matter, so Tokyo feels free to continue hunting down several species, which are nearing extinction.